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Publications Style Guide

The style of writing incorporated in University publications is crucial to the branding efforts. Writing should be active, friendly, and in first and second person narrative point of view (we, you). For example, "You will participate...." and "We will give you...." as opposed to "The student will be expected..."

Your manuscript copy should be clear and concise. Remember who your audience is and ask yourself one question: "Can the reader understand my message easily and quickly?"

When keyboarding the copy, please follow these suggestions:

Type all copy, including headlines, flush left. Do not use justified or centered type. We will do this formatting when we place the copy in a page-layout file.

Type all copy in upper and lower case. Do not type any copy, including headlines, in all caps.

Indent paragraphs by using the tab command. Do not use spaces.

Do not set body copy in columns, and do not place boxes around highlighted copy or rules between paragraphs.

When typing tabular copy (columns of figures, for example) enter one tab between each column. Do not space over to the next column so that it appears lined-up on your screen. When we format the copy, we will specify tab settings so that all copy lines up properly.

Enter only one space after a period at the end of sentence.

Do not enter a return command except at the end of a paragraph or where a hard return is required.

Following these style guidelines will help provide consistency in all Indiana State University publications.

The Chicago Manual of Style is the preferred reference for University publications.

Abbreviations

Do not abbreviate Indiana State University.Wrong: Ind. St. Univ., Indiana State Univ., IN State University.

ISU (no periods) may be used after first reference.

ISU should be reserved for an audience fully aware of what institution you are writing about.

It is particularly important not to confuse anyone who might be more familiar with, for example, Illinois State University.

Do not abbreviate the names of states or the months of the year.

Do not abbreviate streets and directions.Right: 217 North Seventh Street, 817 Sycamore Street.
(Abbreviations should be reserved for mailing addresses.)

Academic Degrees

Lowercase and use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, a master's, etc. Lowercase master of arts, master of science, master of business administration, etc.

She earned a doctorate in English, and her husband has a master's degree in psychology.

If it is necessary to mention the degree in order to establish credentials, the preferred form is to avoid abbreviation and use a phrase such as: John Doe has a doctorate in psychology. If this form is cumbersome use abbreviations only after a full name: John Doe, Ph.D., spoke.

Do not precede a name with a courtesy title and follow it with the abbreviation.

Wrong: Dr. Jane Doe, Ph.D.Right: Dr. John Doe, a chemist.

Academic Units and Administrative Offices

In first reference use the official name and capitalize.

In second reference shortened forms, uppercased, are acceptable:

The Department of English and the Office of Admissions have worked together on many projects.

The Admissions Office and the English Department have worked together on many projects.

The department also offers many extracurricular activities.

The colleges and the school are capitalized when the full name is used:

The Bayh College of Education

The College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Graduate and Professional Studies

The College of Health and Human Services

The College of Technology

The Donald W. Scott College of Business

Honors College

University College

When referring to the Bayh College of Education, always include the entire name. Do not use the College of Education.

When referring to the Scott College of Business, include the full name in first reference: the Donald W. Scott College of Business. In second reference use the Scott College of Business. Never use the College of Business.

Advisor

Not adviser.

Alumna, Alumnae, Alumni, Alumnus.

Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) to refer to a woman who has graduated.

Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women.

Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) to refer to a man who has graduated.

Ampersand (&)

Use the ampersand only when it is part of the formal name of a company or organization.

Building and Facility Names

It is recommended that the following names be used in first reference to campus facilities:

500 Wabash

Academic Enrichment Center

Arena (use only in reference to the south gymnasium in the Health and Human Services Building)

Art Annex

Athletics Annex West

Blumberg Hall

Bob Warn Field

Bookstore

Burford Hall

Butterfly Habitat

Career Center

Center for Multimedia Services

Central Chilled Water Plant

Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center

Cherry Street Parking Garage

Commons, the

Community Garden

Condit House

Cromwell Hall

Cunningham Memorial Library

Dede Activity Center (also, Dede I, Dede II, and Dede III)

Dede Plaza

Dreiser Hall

Erickson Hall

Facilities Management and Purchasing Building

Fairbanks Hall

Federal Hall

Field Campus

Fine Arts Building

Gibson Track and Field

Gillum Hall

Grounds Maintenance Building

Health and Human Services Building

Heritage Ballroom

Heritage Lounge

Hines Hall

Holmstedt Hall

Hulman Center

Hulman Memorial Student Union

ISU Tree Farm

Indiana State University Foundtion

Indiana University School of Medicine — Terre Haute

John T. Myers Technology Center

John W. Moore Welcome Center

Jones Hall

Kennedy Field

Kieweg Wood

Kleuh Tennis Complex

Landini Center for Performing and Fine Arts

Landsbaum Center for Health Education

Lincoln Quadrangles

Little Blue Stem Prairie

Memorial Stadium

Michael Simmons Student Activity Center

Mills Hall

New Theater

Normal Hall

Nursing Building

Oakley Place

Oakley Plaza

Parsons Hall

Pickerl Hall

Power Plant

Price Field

Rankin Hall

Recreation East

Recycling Center

Reeve Hall

Rhoads Hall

Root Hall

Sandison Hall

Satellite Chilled Water Plant

Science Building

Soccer Field

St. John Softball Complex

Stalker Hall

State Room

Student Recreation Center

Student Services Building

Sycamore Center for Wellness and Applied Medicines

Sycamore Stadium

Sycamore Towers

Tilson Music Hall

Tirey Hall

University Apartments (Maehling Terrace 1, 2, and 3)

University Hall

University Pavilion

University Suite

Wildflower and Prairie Habitat

Wolf Field

Common or shortened forms of building and facility names may be used in second reference: the union, the library, etc.

Abbreviations of buildings and facilities should not be used in textual matter.

Courtesy Titles

In textual matter, use the first and last name of the individual in first reference and the last name in subsequent references:

John Smith presented a paper at our conference.

Smith's findings were based on many years of research.

Dash

Do not confuse with a hyphen. A long dash is keyboarded by entering two hyphens with no space before, between, or after.

Dates

Use Arabic numerals without st, nd, rd, th.

Wrong: April 15th, 2001.Right: April 15, 2001.

Degrees

See Academic Degrees.

Ellipsis

An ellipsis is used to indicate the deletion of words. Do not use an ellipsis to indicate a pause in thought.

Wrong: The University is concerned about all students ... not just a few.Right: The University is concerned about all students — not just a few.Right: "I came to this University because ... I found a very friendly atmosphere."

Ellipses are keyboarded with one space before, one after, and one space between periods ( . . . ).

If an ellipsis is used between sentences, four periods are keyboarded, with no space before the first period.

Email

lowercase, no hyphen

Email and website addresses may be set off in brackets to eliminate confusion.

Ensure, Insure

Use ensure to mean guarantee.

Use insure when referring to insurance.

Fax

Fax. Not FAX.

First Annual

An event is not considered to be an annual event until it has been held at least two successive years.

Fractions

Spell out amounts less than one, using hyphens: two-thirds, four-fifths, seven-sixteenths, etc.

Use figures for precise amounts larger than one: 2 1/2, 8 15/16.

His/Her

See Sexist Language.

Hyphens

Use a hyphen with numerals used as adjectives:

A 435-acre campus.

Use a hyphen to link compound modifiers — two or more words that express a single concept preceding a noun:

A well-known fact, a full-time student.

Do not use a hyphen following very or a word ending in "ly" in a compound modifier:

A newly acquired job.

Indiana State University.

It is recommended that the University be referred to as Indiana State University in first reference.

Indiana State, State, and the University (uppercase U) may be used in subsequent reference.

ISU (no periods) should be avoided and only used for an audience fully aware of what institution you are writing about. It is particularly important not to confuse anyone who might be more familiar with, for example, Illinois State University.

Internet

Uppercase initial letter only if starting a sentence.

Major/Minor

Lowercase

A minor in psychology and a major in English.

Numerals

Spell out the whole numbers one through ten and use figures for 11 and above:

The program has 16 students, three of whom are graduate assistants.

Use a comma in large numbers: 3,000.

Spell out casual expressions:

You are one in a million!

Organizations

Capitalize the full, formal names of boards and organizations:

Indiana State University Board of Trustees.

Lowercase informal use of these names:

The trustees met recently.

The board met recently.

Percent

One word, used with numerals: 60 percent.

The symbol for percent (%) is used only in charts and graphs.

Programs and Centers

Capitalize only the full, formal name of programs and centers:

The Rowe Center for Communicative Disorders is affiliated with the Bayh College of Education.

The center is part of the Department of Communication Disorders and Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology.

Room Locations

List the building first, followed by room (lowercased) and the number:

The lecture will be in Holmstedt Hall, room 102.

Quotation Marks

The period and the comma always go within quotation marks.

The dash, semicolon, question mark, and exclamation point go within quotation marks when they apply only to the quoted matter. They go outside when they apply to the whole sentence.

Semester

Lowercase.

Register now for the spring semester.

Series

Use commas to separate elements in a series.

Use a comma before the conjunction in the series:

The campus is attractive, convenient, and compact.

If commas are used in individual elements of the series, use semicolons to separate the elements:

Sexist Language

Do not use male forms of words when referring to both genders; however, the use of his or her is awkward, and when possible a slight revision of the sentence is the better choice.Wrong: A student spends many hours preparing for his or her finals.Right: Students spend many hours preparing for their finals.

People of either gender receive equal consideration in University writing.

Physical descriptions, sexist references, demeaning stereotypes, and condescending phrases are to be eliminated.

Terms such as chairperson (instead of chairman) and humanity (instead of mankind) are more inclusive.

States

Spell out. The two-letter uppercase state abbreviations devised by the post office are for use in addresses only.

Time

Capitalize the full name of the time zone:

Eastern Standard Time. If an event is likely to affect people in another time zone, use the appropriate abbreviation: 9:00 a.m. EST.